Mass Effect 2 Walkthrough & Strategy Guide

Eternity Bar: From there, it's time to head to the Eternity Bar, which is located at the northeast end of the Illium map. You'll be able to do a whole bunch of stuff in there, though there are three people in particular you can speak with at length (four, actually, but the fourth person is counted in the same side quest chain as one of the other people you'll speak with first). But before you find anyone in particular to speak with, why not explore the bar to see the other sights and sounds? You'll find a Salarian having an awkward bachelor party, a Quarian fending off an interested Turian friend, and, as you might have guessed, a number of drunk, dancing patrons. Unfortunately, you won't be able to partake in too much dancing and drinking. You've got work to do!

The first person you want to find and speak with here is the Asari slave broker near the entrance to the bar. When you speak with her, you'll immediately be thrust into a conversation with her and her Quarian "friend," if by friend, you mean slave. The Asari slave broker works out indentured servitude contracts for the down-and-out, who then turn around and work off their debt by acting as slaves for a set period of time. Though everything seems to be on the up-and-up here on Illium in regard to this "Slavery Lite" issue, you can still get involved. The story here is that the Quarian has a contract, but the party the trader thought would be interested now isn't. Conveniently, the very person you need to speak with to get things going here is also in the bar, but as this is a side quest, we won't cover it here. For more information on Illium: Indentured Service, see the Side Quests section of this guide.

Another interesting person you can meet is the bartender here in this very bar. The bartender, as she tells you, is an Asari Matriarch, so it comes as a bit of a surprise to your party that she's working at a bar, and not giving her wise council to her fellow Asari (after all, she's about a thousand years old). Pick her brain about all sorts of subjects, and you'll learn plenty of interesting stuff about her, including the fact that her dad was a Krogan! You'll learn that her parents ultimately killed each other, and now she lives her elderly Asari life here on Illium, serving drinks and keeping things lowkey. While conversing with her isn't mandatory, you shouldn't pass up this rather interesting and in-depth conversation.

The third and final person to speak with here is perhaps the most important person of all, since she'll allow you to continue the quest you're here to complete -- that is, helping Miranda's sister. The Asari named Lanteia in the bar will recognize Miranda immediately. She'll fill the entire party in on the situation. It appears that Oriana, Miranda's sister, is in imminent danger of being captured by their father. To jettison Oriana off of the planet safely, Miranda hatches a rather ingenious plan. Since she and Oriana are identical in looks, she recommends that she take the place of Oriana, luring the mercenaries that are seeking her out directly to her, so Shepard and party can do away with them. Meanwhile, Oriana will get off of the planet using Miranda as cover, as well as an old friend of Miranda's named Niket, who is willing to help out. If you want to do more here before continuing with this particular arc, then tell the Asari that you're not ready to go off and begin the quest yet when prompted. You can then go about your business, which is what we recommend. It won't hurt to see the rest of Illium's capital city before continuing, as there's plenty more to do.

Liara's Office: The next stop for us is Liara's Office. To get there, backtrack to where Serrice Technology is, and then go southward and up the stairs. You'll eventually run into Liara's Asari secretary outside of the door to her office. Her name is Nyxeris, and she chats you up a bit before you head on inside to reunite with your old friend. After hugging and catching up with one another, you can see just what Liara is up to. It appears that she's in the information business right now, a lucrative-yet-dangerous industry that has Liara running around like crazy, learning everything she can about everyone she meets and knows about. You can ask her about a couple of characters you're going to recruit later here on Illium, but for the time being, there's little else to speak with her about. You can potentially get a side quest from her too, though at this point in your quest (if you're following our walkthrough), you won't be able to do much. You can accept the side quest right now, but you shouldn't act on it yet, as there's no way for you to complete it at this point. The side quest will come up in your menu as Illium: Liara: System Hacking. More information on it can be found in the Side Quests section of the guide.